Essential Reading

by
Peter Hopkirk

HISTORY

1994

PAPER

565 PAGES

FAVORITE

HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

Hopkirk's spellbinding account of the great struggle for European supremacy in Central Asia takes us over the high mountain passes and through the scorching deserts and caravan towns of the Silk Road, capturing the glamour, intrigue, treachery and adventure of the time. (CAS09, $18.00)

by
Colin Thubron

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2008

PAPER

374 PAGES

In this classic narrative, Thubron recounts his travels to Samarkand, Bukhara and throughout Central Asia in the wake of the breakup of the Soviet Union. A fine writer, intrepid traveler and insightful observer, he's an outstanding guide to the history, people and culture of the region. (CAS07, $15.99)

by
Frances Wood

CULTURAL PORTRAIT

2004

PAPER

270 PAGES

Wood draws on hundreds of archival photographs, manuscripts and paintings from the British Library in telling this lively story of the art, culture and history of diverse trade routes. With chapters on jade and silk, trade during the Han Dynasty, Dunhuang, the Great Game, explorers and the Silk Road today. (ASA36, $30.95)

by
William J. Bernstein

HISTORY

2009

PAPER

496 PAGES

Primates may share food but only Homo Sapiens trade, says William Bernstein in this far-reaching, dare we say splendid, hymn. An economist (and fine writer), he considers not just silk and spices, sugar and tea but also the considerably less savory exchange of opium and slavery in this sweeping tale. (WLD141, $18.00)

by
Peter Hopkirk

HISTORY

1984

PAPER

252 PAGES

Hopkirk's rousing tale of Sven Hedin and other larger-than-life archaeological raiders of the early 20th century captures the excitement of discovery -- and the glories of the Silk Road. (CAS22, $24.95)

by
S. Frederick Starr

HISTORY

2013

HARD COVER

696 PAGES

S. Frederick Starr brings to life the great flowering of ideas and advances of Central Asia's medieval enlightenment, showing how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asian societies led the world in trade and was at the vanguard of mathematics, philosophy, history, geology, astronomy and science. (CAS227, $39.50)

by
John Julius Norwich

HISTORY

2009

HARD COVER

304 PAGES

This inspired book depicts the rise and fall of cities from earliest Mesopotamia through the great trading centers of the first millennium to medieval Europe and the modern megalopolis. Each entry is magnificently illustrated in color and is paired with an essay by diverse dignitaries including Jan Morris (New York), Colin Thubron (Samarkand), Simon Schama (Amsterdam) and Michael Coe (Angkor). (WLD171, $45.00)

by
Valerie Hansen

HISTORY

2015

HARD COVER

320 PAGES

A professor of Chinese and world history at Yale, Hansen draws on original sources and the latest archaeology for this magnificently illustrated tale of the overland routes across Asia and the life, history, and culture of fabled Silk Road cities Niya, Kucha, Turfan, Samarkand, Chang'an, Dunhuang and Khotan. (CAS214, $34.95)

by
William Dalrymple

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2012

PAPER

314 PAGES

Back in print! An intrepid traveler and entertaining writer, William Dalrymple deftly observed account takes in the people and places he encounters on a journey from Jerusalem across Central Asia to China along the Silk Road, ending like Marco Polo, at Xanadu, the summer palace of Kubla Khan. (CAS50, $15.95)

by
Susan Whitfield

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

2001

PAPER

253 PAGES

With insight, scholarship and dramatic flair, Susan Whitfield recounts the lives of ten diverse individuals on the ancient Silk Road, including four tales set in Dunhuang. With a superb 15-page history of Central Asia. (CAS44, $29.95)

by
John Man

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2014

PAPER

396 PAGES

John Man travels in the footsteps of Italian merchant Marco Polo, bringing to life the exotic world that he uncovered, one of huge armies, untold riches, unusual spices and the great Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. (CAS240, $15.99)

by
Jen Lin-liu

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2014

PAPER

400 PAGES

Lin-liu, an American living in China, sets out on a culinary journey from China and across Central Asia, all the way to the Mediterranean. Her highly personal account explores what can still be felt of cuisine's storied migration along ancient trade routes. (CAS232, $16.00)

by
Paul Theroux

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2006

PAPER

528 PAGES

A wry account of utterly exhausting, exasperating travels, mostly by rail, throughout China for an entire year. Theroux gets himself to every corner of the huge country and includes memorable passages on his experiences in Mongolia, Xinjiang, Manchuria and Tibet (where his journey ended). (CHN133, $15.95)

by
Colin Thubron

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2008

PAPER

363 PAGES

Thubron returns to Central Asia in this lyrical, erudite account of a 7,000-mile trek across Asia, visiting archaeological sites, people and cities from Xi'an and Dunhuang to Samarkand, Bukhara, Afghanistan and Iran. (CAS133, $15.99)

by
George MacDonald Fraser

LITERATURE

1995

PAPER

336 PAGES

What caused the Sepoy Mutiny, a pivotal moment in the Raj? How about Harry Flashman, the reluctant, much-decorated coward, cad and womanizer at the center of George MacDonald Fraser's wildly entertaining, irreverent series of historical novels. (CAS120, $16.00)

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